How to tell between D2 and 420HC

S

SilverLighT

Joined
Jan 21, 2002
Messages
526
here's the problem:

Let's say there are two perfectly identical knives, one with a D2 blade, and another with a 420HC. Now let's say that I have ONE of them.. and I don't know which. How could I tell which it is?

Also, any information on D2 would be good. Who would prefer D2 over Talonite, for a folder? I think i'd chose D2, but I haven't used either steel. I just can't justify about 3x the price, for something that might not be that great an improvement if any (it just seems to me that it's the 'next best thing', without people really knowing why.. sort of mythical-like)

Thanks for any help, in advance.
 
D2 will rust without too much trouble. 420HC is very rust resistant. D2 holds an edge a long time. 420HC does not. D2 often has some discernible grain structure. 420HC reveals little grain. Even though it is a coarser grain steel, 420HC grain is almost invisible. I'm not sure why D2 grain is so visible. D2 will not polish worth a damn. 420HC takes a very high polish.

I routinely carry a Mayo TNT with a talonite blade, and am amazed by its performance. Talonite/stellite is mostly Cobalt and Chromium with imbedded carbides (Tungsten I think). There is no iron in it so it doesn't rust. It loses its shaving edge quickly but continues to cut forever it seems. It can be easily resharpened by simply stropping on some leather with white compound. Talonite is not good for chopping on hard objects because it is relatively soft.

D2 holds an edge for a long time, but eventually goes dull and is not easy to sharpen. D2's primary knife quality is wear resistance. It is not especially impact resistant, though it will tolerate harder impacts than Talonite. It does rust, and seems to do that pretty easily at times. Since rusting leads to dulling, that needs to be considered.

Had I a choice of D2 or Talonite on my TNT, I would stick with the Talonite, even though I can resharpen D2 blades pretty easily with my belt grinder. That's my view of it...
 
Thanks for the useful info guys... I think i'll be able to figure it out.. probably just by looking at it. I'm just informing myself in advance actually.

I'm guessing cutting an apple with D2 isn't recommended... almost as bad as getting Coke spilled on it? =P
 
Cutting an apple with a D2 blade isn't all that bad. Just make sure you clean the blade afterwards and you will be alright. A little Flitz or Simichrome polish will clean it right up.

If you really want to see a difference then cut an onion. The results will show up faster. A D2 blade will discolor more than the 420Hc one. In fact, I doubt that the 420Hc one will discolor at all.
 
This probably doesn't apply, but it is interesting. I made two knives out of one piece of D2, one forged, the other stock removal. The forged one takes a better edge and performs better, but the stock removal one has much better stain resistance. An apple discolored both of them to different degrees, but as Barry said, an onion is likely to be more drastic. Warm vinegar works pretty quickly, too. As in seconds. None of these cause it to rust, just discolor, so you can buff or rub off the discoloration with minimal effort.
 
The D2 blade is likely to be 60 RC while the 420 HC is likely to be under 58. You could probably scratch the 420 HC with the D2.
 
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